Labor Day weekend travel deals — discounts to San Francisco, San Diego, Cancun, Denver, Las Vegas

It’s not too late to book a Labor Day escape. After all, the long holiday weekend is meant to give you some rest and relaxation. Ditch the barbecue block party and give yourself a night (or three) away. Airlines are having sales. Hotels are having sales. Here’s a long list of resources as you consider the best way to get out of town. As a reminder, Labor Day is Monday, Sept. 7.

Airfare sales: United has a Labor Day sale for travel departing Sept. 1, 2, 5 and 6. Return travel is valid Sept. 5, 6, 8 and 9. I found the following low fares for the holiday weekend. Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) $115, round trip including tax. Los Angeles (LAX) to Seattle (SEA) $211, Los Angeles (LAX) to Phoenix (PHX) $115. In some cases when I was testing dates it was easier for me to find these fares using Priceline and Kayak than it was to use United’s website.

Big savings at the big travel sites:

Priceline has up to 50% off Labor Day escapes. If you are gutsy enough to name your own price on flights you can save up to 50% off when departing within seven days. Also, you’ve got three days left to use its End of Summer Vacation sale to save $125 off seven-night flight + hotel packages. Only staying four days? Get $75 off.

Expedia is on the tail end of its biggest hotel sale ever. I checked out its Mexico/Latin America page and found hotels 70% off if you book by Aug. 31 for travel through Sept. 7. Say hello to Cancun with flight + four nights in a three-star all-inclusive hotel starting at $470. Hotel-only prices weren’t bad either. The first property I saw with a four and a half star rating was La Amada Hotel Playa Mujeres Cancun. For travel Sept 5-8 the price was dropped from $300 a night to $120 per night for two people, pre-tax. If 24-hour room service or all-inclusive pricing sounds stress-free to you, consider a Deluxe Room at GR Solaris Cancun & Spa for two people that was marked down from $315 per night to an average of $189 per night Sept. 4-7.

Travelocity has a great “Last Minute Packages” section where you can select your departure city and get flight + hotel, flight + luxe hotel, flight + car and car + hotel package vacation recommendations. I looked at options from Los Angeles and found getaways in Phoenix, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Ariz., and of course, Las Vegas. But when they say last minute, they mean it. The deals I saw were for next weekend (Aug. 29-31), so check back next week. Prices are usually per person based on double occupancy.

Hotels.com has select hotels in cities across the country discounted up to 40% off for Labor Day. You’ll have to do some testing as some of the hotels and prices listed in the sale do not match once you move forward and list your weekend dates. Use their flexible rate calendar after you get price and availability results to look for the cheapest dates. On the upside, sometimes I saw deals of 45% off or third night free.

Destinations:

Denver: Great for families - get two rooms for the price of one at the fun and funky downtown hotel, the Curtis. Use promo code “PROKID” to get the two rooms plus $50 food and beverage credit with rates starting at $199 per night. Want to bring another family with you? You get free parking for two cars. Good for travel on stays Thurs-Sun through Oct. 7 with a two-night minimum. If you’re booking online, look for the “Grab Your Grandma” special.

Las Vegas: What kind of room rates can you expect in Vegas over Labor Day weekend? Probably not too many $40/night rooms. I checked Vegas.com for three nights Sept. 4-7, and found an average of $49/night at the Gold Coast, $102/night at the Golden Nugget, $212 at Treasure Island, $250 at Mirage, $110 at the new M Resort on the very south end of Vegas, $145 at Luxor, $287 at Palazzo, $458 for Caesars and $188 for Red Rock Resort.

San Francisco: The Hotel Triton was featured on DealBase’s Top Five Labor Day Deals. Check out the “Playcation Package” with rooms starting at $99 per night Friday - Sunday. Use promo code “SF11″ to get this rate, which also includes a bottle of wine for stays through Sept. 7.

San Diego: It’s not downtown, but a drive up to La Jolla Torrey Pines might be just what the workaholic ordered. Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines has a Labor Day Last Blast promo where you get the third night free. Rates start at $159 per night and are good for stays Sept. 3-8. It also includes a $25 food and beverage credit per night.

The Sofia Hotel in downtown San Diego with easy access to the happening Gaslamp district has rooms with Travelocity over Labor Day weekend for an average of $142 per night. It includes 30% savings with a total price of $474, including tax and free Internet. Free use of the 24-hour fitness center and yoga studio are an added perk for guests who aren’t willing to take a break from their workouts.

– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: Tidal activity sculpts the shore near Cancun, Mexico. Credit: Associated Press / Israel Leal]

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 at 4:31 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under Airline travel, Cancun, Deals, Family & Kids, Hotels, Islands & Beaches, Las Vegas, Mexico, News, Tips & Advice, Rocky Mountain States, San Diego, San Francisco, Summer, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.